Published 7:15 pm, Monday, May 18, 2015

“Never say never,” is what Neil Gaiman says during a phone interview about any and all possibilities in life.

Never is a word that does not exist in Gaiman’s books; books that include traveling through other dimensions, gods walking around the streets alongside mortals, and fantasy tales of children as they take on tasks no adults could ever imagine. In each book, the protagonist always finds a way to solve the impossible.

But when asked about previous visits to West Texas, Gaiman stops, thinks and said he could not recall any particular stops — but declines to use the word “never.”

Instead, the 54-year-old English author remembers making a trip to the San Diego Comic Con on the train from Chicago, and passing through West Texas, noting how long it takes to get out of the state. It’s a large state, he comments, but recalled seeing both beauty and emptiness all rolled into one.

“The train rumbled through the vast eternity of West Texas,” he said. “I would always be amazed at how long Texas goes through. I’ve been on those trains and seen the glorious nothing going by.”

On Wednesday, however, the author will speak Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, being the main attraction for this year’s One Book Odessa event. This year, two of Gaiman’s books were selected — “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” for adults, and “Coraline” for children.

“The Ocean at the End of the Lane” was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, and was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards. Similarly, “Coraline” is a Hugo-award-winning book and was made into a stop-motion film in 2009.

The idea of an entire city reading one of his books does not intimidate Gaiman, he said, but makes him excited, calling it “wonderful,” and a “fantastic way for people to bond.”

“I love it whenever it happens,” he said. “There’s always this good feeling when people are talking, people are arguing, and people are thinking. And best of all, it’s bringing people together.”

Gaiman’s work expands beyond just books for adults, as he has also written the graphic novel “Sandman” (which is currently being developed into a major motion picture), nonfiction books (a biography on the 80s band Duran Duran), poetry and two episodes of the British science-fiction television show “Doctor Who” just to name a few.

Avid readers of Gaiman (and his fan base is large; the author has more than 2.2 million followers on Twitter), will show one of the topics the author visits time and time again is childhood.

Gaiman said his reasoning is simple, and quotes Maurice Sendak, using the line, “I remember my own childhood vividly ... I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let adults know I knew. It would scare them.”

Children perceive things differently than adults, are realistic, and unfiltered, he said. Sendak also has an influence on Gaiman when he writes his own children’s novels.

“He was an influence on me because he used to be uncompromising,” Gaiman said. “He didn’t write down to kids.”

Gaiman is also an avid reader, saying the last book he read was “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell, adding it was “fantastic” and “ambitious.”

As for a new novel of his own, Gaiman said he plans to stop touring for about a “year or 18 months” to sit down and write.

Before that though, his West Texas speaking event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday. Doors open at 6 p.m. and admission is free, but requires a ticket. Randy Ham, executive director for the Odessa Council for the Arts and Humanities, will host the event.

“I am so thrilled that the Odessa Council for the Arts and Humanities and the Friends of the Ector County Library have been able to bring world-class authors to the Permian Basin,” Ham said. “To have Neil Gaiman headline the Wagner Noël is a dream come true.”

Gaiman said he looks forward to actually stopping in West Texas and talking with those who love his books, and reading in general.

“I’m so looking forward to coming out there, not on a train, and stopping and getting to meet everybody,” he said. “In my experience, Texans are the most hospitable people.”